After School - Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Honestly I was kind of assuming I'd go with my usual plan for this sort of thing, you say, grabbing your shoes and heading outside.
Go in without a plan, you mean?
No, no, you say.
The usual plan is to pump you for info first and then
jump in without a plan while you lurk in the shadows to bail me out in the very, very unlikely event of a situation that can't be solved by cuteness and/or mass destruction. As you talk to Maiko you duck into a nearby alley to transform.
Seriously, though, if think you know what's going on then I trust you to give me the most important info. Though, uh, I am kind of assuming you don't mind tagging along?
I was planning on it already, she replies.
Okay. I don't want to be presumptuous or anything, you say, while sprinting down alleys and back streets to get clear of the school. Lots of teenage girls around means the a much higher chance of bystanders who
will notice magic, and that's not something you want to deal with.
Although, I was thinking of asking Koharu if she wants to be part of this as well? Partly so I have some visible backup and partly because I want her to feel like she's part of my team.
Hmm. Well, I doubt she could do worse than her first attempt at diplomacy, Maiko says.
Having put enough distance between yourself and the school, you quickly jump to the rooftops and begin heading for the Nerima border.
Uh, don't actually say that to her, okay? She was really upset about that whole mess.
To my mind, it's more Himari's fault than Koharu's, Maiko says,
but I suppose she wouldn't necessarily feel that way. By all means, invite her along if you like; your reasons seem sound. In any case, now that you're away from the school area I'll catch up with you in a few minutes.
Okay, I'll t--wait, how did you know that?
You can't tell?
...now that you think about it, there's a faint trace of magic permeating the area around you. You didn't notice at first because it was already there when you transformed, and without the transformation your magic sense wasn't good enough to pick it up. It has a sort of glassy, electric feel to it, and the flow of magic seems to originate from... ah. You stop, look up, and wave.
Hi, Yui! Minami says.
Yeah, Maiko asked me to let her know where you were.
Excellent, keep up the good work!
Roger that, Commander! Minami's telepathic presence fades into the background again.
...you decide not to think about how apparently you can only tell that Minami is spying on you when you're transformed, because that's not worrying at all, not one bit. Instead, you reach out mentally.
Koharu, you busy?
Not right this moment, she responds a moment later.
Is something going on?
Want to back me up in a meeting with a girl from a Tokyo group? you ask.
They're not on your border directly, but building your rep with Tokyo groups can't hurt.
She pauses.
And there isn't anyone you'd rather have there with you? she says.
Not for this meeting, you say. It's not even a lie, really--while Koharu is likely correct in suspecting ulterior motives for inviting her, there's a pretty short list of who you'd want in this kind of diplomatic meeting and you're pretty sure none of the others would be interested or available.
If you say so, she sighs.
I'm afraid I have only an hour to spare, though. I have other obligations for the remainder of the day.
I'm heading to the meeting right now, you say.
An hour will probably be enough?
I see, Koharu says.
Well then, it would be my pleasure to attend.
Koharu intercepts you and Maiko about halfway to the Nerima border, sprinting across the
side of a nearby building before leaping over your head, landing in a handstand, then flipping forward to hit the rooftop running alongside you. Regretfully, you push aside the influence of Koharu's magic as it urges you to watch her acrobatics, since you'd really, really prefer to not trip and faceplant into the traffic below. You do applaud briefly, though.
"I did gymnastics in middle school," Koharu says. "It was never
this much fun, though." She shakes her head, sending her hair curls bouncing enthusiastically. "As for this meeting, I will contribute however possible."
"Right," Maiko says, "now that you're both here I will summarize the situation." She clears her throat. "First of all, I'm confident the girl you're meeting is their most experienced member, Shina Konno," Maiko says. "Her wish magic grants a preternatural ability to identify weaknesses and vulnerable points in threats and obstacles of which she is aware. She presents this as primarily useful against Witches, as they often have obscure and highly-specific weak points based on the internal logic of their barrier. Konno carefully
conceals the fact that her magic is also applicable to nearly any manner of conflict, including socially and psychologically."
"Oh dear. Should we even be speaking with such a person?" Koharu asks. "I've endured small talk with social predators on occasion, which was unpleasant enough without magic helping them."
"Konno is dangerous and motivated by self-interest, but not particularly malicious," Maiko says. "Furthermore, her magic merely identifies weaknesses; it does nothing whatsoever to help her
exploit them. She has nothing to gain from provoking you personally, and she is very weak in direct combat. Just be prepared to disengage if the conversation becomes antagonistic and don't make any impulsive decisions." Maiko pauses.
"'No impulsive decisions,' says the grown woman to the teenagers," you mutter, prompting a snicker from Maiko. "How weak are we talking, here?"
"Transformed, I could likely take her in a fistfight," Maiko says dryly. "Despite allegedly being a 'skinny nerd with wimpy noodle arms', according to an old friend."
"Gotcha," you say. "Also, you totally are."
"I'm hardly denying it," Maiko says, in a somewhat put-upon tone of voice.
"What does Miss Konno want with Yui?" Koharu asks.
"Ah, I got ambushed by another member of her group," you reply. "The other girl, Chizuka, seemed a bit desperate, and the more I heard about the group the more it sounded kinda sketchy and like they were taking advantage of her. So I left my contact info in case she needed help but this other girl messaged me instead."
"Yes. Konno is most likely intending to form an agreement with you behind the back of the group's nominal leader--something she has apparently done before, a fact the rest of the team remains unaware of. Her goal is likely either a power play to take control of the group, or to split off with the team members she considers most valuable," Maiko says. "In either case, she will likely use her wish magic to tailor her offer based on your values and needs. I expect something along the lines of framing it as a way for you to simultaneously help the girls who dislike the situation in Tokyo and secure a section of the Nagamioka border by having an allied neighbor."
"Put like that it... actually doesn't sound so bad, though?" you say.
"To be clear, I'm reasonably certain she expects to make an honest deal that objectively benefits both parties," Maiko says, "at the low price of making you complicit in the same kind of backstabbing that started the mess in Itabashi."
"...
ugh."
"Precisely."
"Any thoughts, Koharu?" you ask.
"My thoughts are that everything was far simpler in Himari's stories," she sighs.
Maiko snorts. "Yes, well," she says, "remind me to tell you a few stories of my own about the diplomatic incidents she caused when she was your age."
"Ah, that sounds delightful," Koharu says, with a quiet laugh. "But to answer your question, Yui, I don't know enough about the rest of her group to say much."
You nod. "Maiko?"
"As outer Tokyo groups go, they are overall depressingly typical," Maiko says. "Seven members, half of whom think they should be the one in charge, with a mixture of veterans whose magic is oriented toward survival over combat and a steady procession of combat-oriented novices who kill a lot of Witches right up until they, ah, don't." Maiko sighs. "The group is held together by a mixture of fear, guilt, and emotional codependency. It is true that they're trapped between hostile neighbors and can barely find enough Grief Seeds, but without those two factors I expect they'd be at each other's throats within a week."
"Ah," Koharu says. "How... delightful."
You just sigh.
"The leader is Honoka Furuhata," Maiko continues. "Her wish magic gives a sort of 'radar' that lets her know when magic is being used in the surrounding area. Her magic is vital to the team, and she genuinely tries to keep everyone safe, but her leadership skills are mediocre at best. She often delegates to her close friend and second-in-command, Ikue Oshigiri, who is on poor terms with most of the group and whose faults Furuhata is prone to overlooking. Your concerns regarding Chizuka's role on the team are largely due to Oshigiri, though Furuhata is not blameless--her fumbling attempts to mediate without acknowledging Oshigiri's behavior does more harm than good."
"This all sounds kinda familiar," you grumble.
"They're nicer people than Hisae and Kaede, if that's what you mean," Maiko says. "I did say they were typical for Tokyo, right?"
You just sigh.
"Aside from Konno, the other member dissatisfied with Furuhata's leadership is Akina Tamazaki," Maiko continues. "She previously operated solo, but joined the group for protection. The rest of the team is less than thrilled at inheriting her enemies, but Furuhata believes Tamazaki's value to the team justifies it. Tamazaki is strong-willed and justifiably proud of her abilities, but sees her ostensible teammates as little more than tools to keep her enemies at bay."
At this point you're getting close to the border, so the three of you stop.
"The remaining members are Tsurumi Ninomiya, a classmate of Chizuka who was indirectly responsible for her contracting and now tries to pretend she's not bitter and jealous about being much weaker than Chizuka; and Miyu Ishida, a somewhat volatile new contractee who's upset about the whole situation and valuable enough in the long term that Furuhata is desperate to placate her."
"What a mess," you say, scanning the park ahead with your magic sense. "But here we are, and it looks like she's waiting for us in the clearing over there. Ready, Koharu?"
She nods.
You crouch down and leap toward the park, clearing the distance in a few mid-air jumps and landing across the clearing from where your... guest? is waiting. Koharu follows a moment later, jumping gracefully between treetops and then landing just behind you.
"You're Shina Konno, I assume?" you ask.
She nods. "I am. Thank you for coming, Aikawa," she says, then inclines her head to acknowledge your companion. "...and Sendou."
Koharu stiffens.
Konno waves a hand dismissively. "I have my sources. You understand, I imagine?"
You shrug. "Well, yeah," you say, recalling what Maiko said earlier, "more than Furuhata does, at least."
Konno grins. "Then let's get right to business, shall we?" she folds her arms behind her back. "If your claims of controlling Nagamioka as a whole are to be taken seriously, you are catastrophically overextended. You are also, not unreasonably, worried about the situation Chizuka is in--and perhaps some of my other teammates, as well?"
Whatever her sources are, she's fishing for info, Maiko says.
You shrug. "Accurate enough for our current purposes," you say.
"Then here is my starting proposal," she says. "I will arrange for Furuhata to 'loan' Chizuka and one or two other members to you. They will defend an assigned region of Nagamioka, splitting any collected Grief Seeds between our group and yours, until such a time as either group wishes to renegotiate."
Koharu tosses her hair and scoffs. "Really? You ask us to cede territory in all but name in exchange for whatever Grief Seeds you feel like collecting?"
"That's a rather uncharitable interpretation," Konno says. "I'm open to counter-offers, regardless."
"And you have the authority to be making such a deal on your group's behalf?" Koharu shoots back.
"Obviously not. Any deal
will have to wait on Honoka's approval, but she can be persuaded if the benefits are clear. I felt it necessary to take the initiative because she doesn't appreciate how fragile the situation with Chizuka and Miyu may become," Konno says. "I'm not certain you understand either, in fact."
[] Make a counter-offer
- [] Add more precise terms to what she offered (write-in details)
- [] Propose something else
-- [] A mutual defense agreement, so they're under less pressure
-- [] Hire their group to hunt in Nagamioka while Witch activity is high; split the acquired seeds
-- [] (write-in other proposal?)
- [] Attempt to outright poach members of their group
-- [] Don't include Konno herself (write-in what to offer her instead)
-- [] Chizuka Kumoto
-- [] Tsurumi Ninomiya
-- [] Miyu Ishida
-- [] Akina Tamazaki
- [] (write-in?)
[] Try to get more information out of Konno (write in specifics)
[] (write-in?)
Not totally happy with this update, but I need to keep things moving along so eh.
